Just about to get into RC planes.Thinking the AXN Floater from Hobbyking.Is it a good choice? Also going to make one from scratch.A TR/RX system from Hobbyking as well which one? Tossing up between the HK 6 channel or the Turnigy 9X leaning towards the 9x, suggestions comments...

I've got an AXN Floater Jet on the way right now. Should be either Monday or Tuesday. From the reviews I've seen, it's a great starter plane. Plenty of power and it's got ailerons, so no need to buy a 3 channel plane, then move up to a 4 channel. It's pretty quick going by the youtube clips I've seen, but also glides very well with power of.

With the pusher style motor mount, there's no problems with crashing it in and breaking props and motors etc.

Keep an eye on the ESC though. It's been known to fry itself quick smart. I'm going to upgrade mine to a Mystery 30amp one and a APC 6x4 prop. Eventually, I'll go to a 2600kv motor I'm getting from RCTimer.

Another thing is you need to flex the control surfaces a bit before assembly, as they are very stiff and need a bit of working in to get decent throws.

Well the AXN Floater Jet has arrived form HK. Very nicely packaged and labelled top stow only, so thumbs up to hobby King for that. Good delivery time too.

Upon onpening the box the plane looks really nice, but on closer inspection I have a few things I want to change. The sevos aren't fixed very well, so move a bit on high throws. I"ll probably glue them in properly before any flying hahaha. I moved the control linkages to allow maximum surface throw too. If need be I'll dial it down electronically, rather than mechanically.

So throws look good now. We'll see how it goes in the air soon. It's supposed to have useless roll, but I'm hoping my throws will help that.

Now the power system. It's a bit of a beast for a glider. With everything stock (5x5 prop), I saw peak current of 16amps, and about 180ish watts. I put an APC 6x4 electric prop on it and it peaked at 20amps and 220watts with my 2200mah 3S 20C Zippy pack. It pushes a lot better with the APC 6x4, but I don't think the ESC is going to handle long throttle pulls. It was getting hot after a few run ups on the bench. The stock ESC is a Turnigy 20amp one, which is well known for smoking itself. I've got a 30amp Mystery ESC to go in. I've also got some other motors from RCTimer I'll probably swap to later on too. We'll see how the stock motor lasts.

I'm still weighing up whether or not to swap the servos to HXT900s. The stock ones are so so, but I might just give them a go to start with.

I'll be using the 2200mah packs, so need to cut out the battery compartment a bit and then mount my radio gear and put the ESC somewhere so it'll get a bit of air. I've got a FrSKy 7 channel reciever in it, so I can use two channels for ailerons. I'll be able to do some flapperon and spoileron mixing just for fun. That's all running off my Turnigy 9X with JR FRSKy tranmsitter module. The mixing on the 9X is quite easy to work out, so it'll be good to try out some different settings with this plane.

I just ran up my replacement power system. RCTimer 2600kv motor with a gas 6x4 prop. 28 amps on a 3s pack. Over 300 watts!!! It might be a bit much for my Mystery 30amp ESC. Might need to go bigger or manage the throttle a bit.

I'll go to that when the stock motor either blows up or I get sick of it.